In the end, cooler heads prevailed when it came to the state of Tomas Kaberle's noggin.

Despite his desire to return to action against the New Jersey Devils last night, the healing Maple Leafs defenceman now has delayed his comeback until Friday against the Buffalo Sabres at the HSBC Arena, at the earliest.

Kaberle, who suffered a concussion against those same Devils on March 2, will undergo one more significant medical test in the coming days. Should he pass that, as expected, both Kaberle and Leafs officials are targeting the Sabres tilt.

Asked if the ultimate decision to delay the comeback was made by the doctors or by himself, Kaberle replied "Both."

"It's difficult, but I think a few more days might be best for me," Kaberle said. "It's tough when you have a head injury. I don't want to play one or two games, then not feel good again."

Kaberle did make an unsuccessful attempt to talk team officials into letting him play.

"It's for the best," he said. "At least I've been feeling better and better every time out."

Kaberle was one of the last players at the Leafs morning skate and wore a huge smile after.

"He's getting better every day," coach Paul Maurice said. "I know how much he would have liked to play but he hasn't been cleared yet."

Kaberle suffered his first career concussion when he absorbed a late hit from the Devils' Cam Janssen, who was suspended three games for the cheap shot.

Janssen, meanwhile, did play last night and exchanged fisticuffs with the Leafs' Wade Belak midway through the first period.